Efrain dominated Phillipe. I was honestly shoscked. The difference was Efrain’s wrestling. He continually went under Phillipe’s punches and got the take down at will. Efrain is a good kid who deserved the win. He has a bright future in the UFC. Efrain had the toughest road to the finals by submitting Shane Nelson and Junie Browning.

Phillipe Nover will also have a good career in the UFC. He will be back. While it may be admried that he has been loyal to his gym, Team Insight for many years, I think he could use stints witht the likes of Shawm Thompkins at Xtreme Couture and Greg Jackson.

Ryan Bader needed ones round to KO Vinny Magalhes. Bader threw one right that clipped Vinny. Quite honestly it looked like it was blocked, but Vinny fell and ate 3 or 4 hammer fists before turtling up and the fight being stopped. Bader did what his friend, teamate and roomate, C.B. Dolloway could not and that is win The Ultimate Fighter.

Vinny needs work on striking and on taking a punch. IF he cac do that he can be a force in the octagon.

Anthony Johnson had another highlight reel KO of Kevin Burns. I feel justice was served.

Wilson Gouveia was just in another league than Jason MacDonald. Wilson Gouveia could be a real force at 185 lbs…that is if he can make the cut.

Junie Browning was very, very impressive. I was shocked by how good he looked. His triking looked crisp. His footwork and head movement were great. His grappling and submissions game was top notch. UFC 155 lb division watch out for Junie Browning. No, really! By the way, how about the classy move of his to apologize to Coach Mir and the fans for his antics on the show. Good move Junie. Stay out of trouble and the sky is the limit.

Krzysztof Soszynski dominated Shane Primm. Then he pulled off a sweet kimura which earned him $25,000 and submission of the night.

Eliot Marshall also looked phenonmenal against Jules Bruschez. He came out aggressive and looked good standing and looked better on the ground

There are sure to be some of these guys let go. Let me tell you how it should work:

These two fighters have a huge ceiling as far as talent goes. In fact, I think either of these guys could be contenders eventually. I would put both of them up against many UFC lightweights right now. Escudero really impressed on the show. I saw many people picking him to go far in forums, but I was a doubter. In fact when he was matched against Shane Nelson I thought he was done. When he was matched against Junie I thought he was done. Efrain has greta wrestling and great submissions. That tirangle choke on Nelson was sick. We may not really know how good Efrain is because he had the tougher road to the finals. It is really possible that he beat two of the best guys in the house. Phillipe has to beware of Efrain’s submissions. Dana White has been in this business a while and like him or not he knows MMA and recognizes talent. Dana raved over Phillipe. In fact, he says that Nover may be the most talented kids ever on The Ultimate Fighter. That is saying something considering TUF has produced names like Forrest Griffin, Diego Sanchez, Rashad Evans, Joe Stevenson, Kenny Florian, Michael Bisping, Mike Swick, Josh Koscheck, Matt Hamill, Stephan Bonnar, Nate Diaz, Gray Maynard, etc. Nover looks to have a complete skill set. His striking and muay thai seems to be unrivaled at 155 lbs. He showed slick submission skills. I would not keel over with a heart attack if Efrain won, but Nover has to be the favorite and that is why I am picking Phillipe to win by submission in round 1. However, both of these guys have bright futures in the UFC.

Phillipe Nover

vs.

Efrain Escudero

Nickname

NR

MMA Blog Rank

NR

155 Lbs.

Weight Class

155 Lbs.

5-0-1 (0-0 UFC)

Record

10-0 (0-0 UFC)

For The Ultimate Fighter 8 Lightweight Championship

Ryan Bader vs. Vinny Magalhes

If someone would have told me this would have beent he fight for the finals I would not have doubted it, but I would have picked Bader to dominate. However, after the semi-finals my opinion has changed slightly. Bader won, won easily, but did not look great in his lay n’ pray victory. Vinny looked very good against fellow Team Quester Krzystof Sosynski. Vinny has fantastic ground skills. Some have said he is one of the best in the world. I agree. Bader could be in trouble. Bader has a solid wrestling pedigree. He will look to use his wrestling to keep the fight standing. Vinny insists that he has improved his striking and will win by knockout. I don’t see that happening. Vinny seems timid and reluctant with striking and does not like getting hit. Bader has KO power. I would be shocked if Vinny’s chin is not tested. That will be the test. If the fight goes to the ground it gets interesting. Can Vinny work a submission while being punched? Can Bader avoid submissions? I worry that this finale will end just like the finale with his teamate C.B. Dolloway. Anyways, I pick Bader by decision, but watch out for submissions.

Ryan Bader

vs.

Vinny Magalhes

Darth

Nickname

Pezao

NR

MMA Blog Rank

NR

205 Lbs.

Weight Class

205 Lbs.

7-0 (0-0 UFC)

Record

For The Ultimate Fighter 8 Light Heavyweight Championship

Jason MacDonald vs. Wilson Gouveia

This is a hard fight to pick. MacDonald is a very good and so is Gouveia. Wilson did well at light heavyweight, but dropped to 185 lbs following his loss to Goran Reljic. Gouveia is a good jiu jitsu player, but MacDonal showed against Demian Maia that he has decent submission defense. I think MacDonald is better all around. I think MacDonald will beware of Gouviea’s submissions and will win by decision. By the way, I am wavering on this fight prediction.

Wilson Gouveia

vs.

Jason MacDonald

Nickname

The Athlete

17

MMA Blog Rank

15

185 Lbs.

Weight Class

185 Lbs.

11-5 (5-2 UFC)

Record

21-10 (5-3 UFC)

Anthony Johnson vs. Kevin Burns

This is a re-match of an earlier fight that ended in controversy. Burns poked Johnson numerous times in the eye and it led to Johnson falling down due to an eye poke and Burns being declared the winner by TKO. Horrible decision. However, the re-match should be good. Burns is a godo fighter and he did not want the fight to end that way. he says that he was forced to strike with an open hand because of a broken hand. Howeverm he says it is fixed. Johnson is looking for revenge. We saw in the Johnson vs. Tommy Speer fight what Johnson is capable of. Don’t look for him to walk through Burns. Burns has solid all around. He submitted Roan Carneiro in his UFC debut. I still think Johnson wins this fight by TKO in round 2.

Anthony Johnson

vs.

Kevin Burns

Rumble

Nickname

The Fire

NR

MMA Blog Rank

NR

170 Lbs.

Weight Class

170 Lbs.

5-2 (2-2 UFC)

Record

7-1 (2-0 UFC)

Junie Allen Browning vs. Dave Kaplan

Dave Kaplan and Junie Browning are both jokes. Frank Mir was all on the Kaplan bandwagon. He looked terrible against Phillipe. Was Phillipe that good or is Kaplan that bad? We just don’t know with Junie. Has he gotten his act together? Is he going to be mentally prepared for this? Physically, Junie is the better fighter. Mentally, I don’t know. Anyways, from what I hear Junie is sober. Junie is training at Xtreme Couture and is living with Shwan Thompkins. I think that has to help. I predict that Junie comes out and impresses. I predict that Junie wins by TKO in round 1.

This event is a special bonus for fight fans.Also, it is a stand up gesture by the UFC.Say what you want about Dana White and the UFC, but no other fight organizations show the benevolence that the UFC does.The goal of these fights is to raise money for the Intrepid Fallen heroes Fund.Click here to find out more or to make donations.Not only is it a good cause, but there are several good fights.We will see stars such as Josh Ksocheck, Mike Swick, Matt Wiman, Jim Miller, WEC champ Steve Cantwell, and Luigi Fiorvanti.Tune in to SPIKE on Wednesday Night to watch this event.

oJosh Koscheck vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida

oMike Swick vs. Jonathan Goulet

oMatt Wiman vs. Jim Miller

oSteve Cantwell vs. Razak Al-Hussan

oLiugi Fioravanti vs. Brodie Farber

oNate Loughran vs. Tim Credeur

oSteve Bruno vs. Johnny Rees

oEddie Sanchez vs. Justin McCully

oBen Saunders vs. Brandon Wolff

oCorey Hill vs. Dale Hartt

·Adrenaline MMA 2 – Thursday, December 11

Some good fights on tap here.The biggest enw may be the return of legend, Pat Miletich against Thomas Denny.Also in action will be former IFL Heavyweight champ Ben Rothwell, rising Heavyweight star Mike Russow and several other notable fighters.

oPat Miletich vs. Thomas Denny

oBen Rothwell vs. Chris Guillen

oMike Russow vs. Branden Bice

oLC Davis vs. Billy Kidd

oMike Ciesnolevicz vs. Derrick Mehmen

oGabe Lemley vs. Dan Loman

oRyan McGivern vs. Geno Roderick

oPat Curran vs. Ramiro “Junior” Hernandez

oJesse Lennox vs. Ryan Williams

·Mixed Fighting Alliance – Saturday, December 13

This boasts a solid main event between two heavyweight legends in Monson and Rodriquez.The big news will be the debut of WWE star Bobby Lashley.The question will be can he do what Lesnar has done?

oJeff Monson vs. Ricco Rodriquez

oBobby Lashley vs. Joshua Franklin

oAriel Grandulla vs. David Baggett

·The Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale – Saturday, December 13th

I do not know of another TUF finale that I have been so excited about.This season has all the 16 cast members fighting on this card.Two exciting finals and two exciting bouts of non TUF cast members in Jason MacDonald vs. Wilson Gouveia and a re-match between Kevin Burns and Anthony Johnson.

·When people talk about staked divisions they think of the UFC welterweight division.The best welterweights are here.There may be a handful of decent welterweights outside the UFC including Jake Shields, WEC’s Carlos Condit, Hayato Sakurai, Jay Hieron and Nick Thompson.

·Jake Shields will likely land in the UFC.That is what he wants and where he wants to be.There are a lot of potential match ups here for him.

·Thiago Alves will get a title shot in 2009 against the winner of Penn vs. St. Pierre.

·Martin Kampmann signed a new contract and should fight at 170

·B.J. Penn very well could become a fixture at 170 as he could vacate his lightweight title win or lose against St. Pierre.

Pretty much the UFC has booked out all the way through UFC 90. That means that they will have to find fighters to fill in the gaps on November’s UFC 91, December’s UFC 92, and the Ultimate Fighter Finale. Unless the UFC adds another card somewhere along the way, that means there are about 25 fights to book before year end. There are slightly more than 30 fighters who are not scheduled for a fight as we speak. I say that because I assume that some of the guys that fight in UFC 88 will be ready and will in fact fight again before year’s end. For example, it may not be out of the question to see Chuck Liddell fight again in December if he wins against Rashad Evans and does not get hurt. With that said, let’s evaluate the guys in queue.

Gabriel Gonzaga – The biggest named heavyweight not scheduled yet. I say that assuming Lesnar vs. Kongo will take place at UFC 91. Gonzaga ought to be in action sooner than later, but against who? Perhaps Heath Herring would be a good match or even Jake O’Brien.

Cain Velasquez – I put him here, but I hear a solid rumor that he will fight Antoni Hardonk at UFC 90. I have also heard that the UFC is having a hard time finding a willing opponent.

Heath Herring – Honestly, I think he will sit out the rest of the year, but may get on a January or February card. He took a beating from Lesnar and needs time to heal.

Mark Coleman – He has been hurt, but has been rumored to be coming back. For a while there were rumors of him fighting at 205 against Shogun. He could be back on the December card for his return to the octagon.

Forrest Griffin – I am gonna jump all over Griffin and the UFC until the schedule a title defense. This belt has been defended scarcely. I think title holder have an obligation to defend their belt. Griffin fought in July, he ought to be ready by year’s end. We could see him fight Liddell if he wins. We could see him fight Machida if Machida finishes Thiago Silva quickly at UFC 89. Some have even speculated that he could fight Wanderlei, but I doubt that yet. I think Machida is the number one cotnender today. I expect to see Forrest fight in December.

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson – There have been two rumors floating around about Jackson. Some have recently spoke of a Jackson vs. Wanderlei III fight to take place in November. I think that is likely. The fight is in Portland, not far from where Jackson trains. The fans want it. The other fight has been a speculated Shogun re-match in December. I guess Jackson’s next fight will depend on his legal status.

Wanderlei Silva – He has been told to prepare for a December return, but don’t count out the November fight with Jackson. I expect to see Wanderlei before year’s end, or at least I hope to.

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua – He is recovering from an injury and says he will be ready by December. He says he is fighting Rampage, but that doesn’t seem too credible. I am most certain he will be on the December card though.

Stephan Bonnar – I also think he will be on the December card as he recovers from an injury. Against who? I have no idea. I have a prediction though: Steve Cantwell or Brian Stann from the WEC. The UFC has talked about the heavier weight classes coming over to the UFC. Bonnar would make a good match for either of those guys. Or even a guy like UFC newcomer Jon Jones.

Demian Maia – We could see him as early as November. I think that he could match up with about anybody, but top middleweight contenders are booked up right now.

Nate Quarry – He broke his orbital bone recently and will be out for a bit.

Kendall Grove – He just opened a gym and is enjoying fatehrhood, he may be off for a while too, but I’d like to see him fight soon.

Amir Sadollah – Amir will be in the ring before year’s end. He could possible fight on the TUF finale card.

C.B. Dolloway – I haven’t heard whether he will fight again in 2008, but I don’t see why he couldn’t.

Matthew Riddle – I would expect to see him back soon as well. He looked good against Dante at the TUF 7 finale.

Jon Fitch – He will be back soon against a top contender, but I don’t know who that will be. He could fight on the December card. He gained tons of respect from the GSP fight.

Josh Koscheck – He should be back in November. The options are numerous for him. He is just a win or two away from a title shot, which he could have before the end of 2009. He must get in line though behind B.J. Penn and then the winner of the Sanchez vs. Alves fight will get the next title shot probably in the summer of 2009.

Mike Swick – He says he will be ready in December following elbow surgery.

Chris Wilson – He looked good at UFC 87. He could return before year’s end on an undercard.

Chris Lytle – I don’t know how he is doing following his blood bath loss to Koscheck, but I presume he could fight this year.

Dustin Hazelett – He has looked good lately. I suspect he too will fight this year.

Luigi Fiorvanti – I hadn’t heard anything on the Luigi front, but he could be back soon too.

Anthony Johnson – He says he will be ready to go by October following the eye poke.

Rory Markham – I am really shocked that he won’t be on the UFC 90 card in his hometown of Chicago. He lobbied for that event, but apparently won’t get it, but I guess he could still be added.

Kevin Burns – How about Burns vs. Markham at UFC 90?

Brad Blackburn – He has a broken hand, so he won’t be ready I don’t think.

Roger Huerta – Grease monkey may be back, I’d like to see him get beat by Edgar.

Frank Edgar – I am pretty sure we will see him by year’s end and probably against one of the guys on this list.

Matt Wiman – I am looking forward to seeing him return. How about Wiman vs. Stephens?

Cole Miller – He looked good against Gurgel and should be back soon.

Jeremy Stephens – See above.

Manny Gamburyan – He could drop to 145 in the WEC.

Rob Emerson – He had a nice KO over Manny. He could fight again, but if he fights any better competition and he will get beat